New Look

Check out our new look! We are still massaging the bugs out of the system (and there are plenty), and hope to have everything fixed soon. Some of the updates will also include a total revamp of our catalog layout, so be sure to check back often.

The Bristol Flyer

There are some really cool things about British culture that get lost on some Americans. It is a culture steeped in tradition. Maybe this is because it is such an old country. Maybe it is because until just recently, there have only been four TV channels. But maybe, it is because England has endured much in it's existence.

Brits are very passionate folks. Whether it's footie (soccer to you inbreds), curries or "goin dan to tha lo'al fo a pint", you cannot deny that they love what they love. So much good music has come form there. Generation defining music like The Beatles, Led Zepplin, Maiden, Sabbath, Radiohead etc etc etc...Name a genre, the Brits gave it to us. And the Spice Girls were nice to look at, depite the awful sounds they made.

Not often, do we, as Americans, get to give back to England. Because tradition is so important to most Brits, it is often difficult to introduce new ideas. Yet, there are some bright individuals over there that question the Status Quo (also a British rock band, - quite sad really) and see what is on the horizon. I'm doing my part to get the message to our friends on the Old Sod.
England is filled with some fantastic riding. I grew up over there. I rode my BMX bike in the woods all the time as a kid, way before anyone had figured out that it could be the next big thing. It was always safer off road, anyone who has ever had to be on a British road will agree.

I am of course, talking about 29ers.

It is starting to catch on over there. Brant at On One is doing a stellar job representing the movement.

And it gives me great pleasure to show the beginnings of what will be referred to as "The Bristol Flyer". Quite possibly, one of the nicest bikes to hit their shores. Sounds like a classic steam train doesn't it? Well, with it's big wheels, it will certainly roll like one. Better get out of the way.


There will be regular updates on this build, so stay tuned.

I Told you it was Coming....

Not just the snow either. 6" up high is kinda a lot, and the snow level is below 2000 feet. The season of poor biking is nigh.
No, the actual feature of this post is the Niner RIP 9. In the short time I have had this bike, it has earned the highest marks in my book. There is no question that the guys at Niner excel at what they do. I have had time to fiddle with the settings, get used to the ride, and now I am ready to spill my guts.

The Bike
A large sized, Atomic Blue painted Fox RP23 equipped beauty. In my haste to build it, I completely forgot to weigh it. I was simply too fired up. I have another large frame inbound, so I'll weigh that one, however, the anodized silver frame does not glow in the dark like the blue one does. It ain't called Atomic Blue for nothin'...

The Spec
Rock Shox Reba, 100mm, King/WTB Speed Disc Trail rims, Panaracer Rampage 2.35 tires (new), King headset, Thomson bits, Easton Monkey Light carbon bars, WTB, Weirwolf grips, WTB Devo saddle (new), SRAM XO triggers, XO rear derailleur (fixed!), XTR front derailleur, FSA Carbon Team cranks, 24/34t with Spot Bash Ring, FSA Ti ISIS bottom bracket, SRAM PG-990 cassette (11-32t), PC-991 chain, Avid Juicy Carbon brakes (185mm rotor up front, 165mm in the back), Salsa Flip Off wheel QRs and seatpost binder, Time ATAC Carbon pedals.

The Weight
29.9lbs. For real.

The Ride
Plush. plush, plush. Buttery smooth. Fast and confident, up or down.

The Story
It took me a while to get this puppy dialed in. On my first ride the suspension was definitely on the soft side. This made the bike feel slack, as I was sagging pretty far into the travel. At rest, I was sagged about 3/4" at the shock at 80% of my body weight. I felt like I was blowing through my travel, on both ends. This was pretty weird to be getting a soft feeling from the front, as on the AIR 9, the fork was set up perfectly. And I was having all sorts of shifting issues, brought on partly from a hasty build, and partly from the middle piece of rear derailleur housing. It is in a funny spot, and creates a funny bend, and as the suspension activates, it causes it to bow out. It was pretty annoying actually, because it kept hitting me in the calf in a bothersome fashion. 1 zip tie fixed that, problem gone.

Despite that, my first impression was that the bike pedals exceptionally well. I am slightly biased when it comes to suspension design, mostly from where I have worked in the past. I still hold many of those values true. My last full suspension bike was an Ellsworth Id, which climbed well, but exhibited brake jack, which was not so fun in techy sections. I could also wind the back end up so much that I could shift it by applying power to the pedals. The high BB made the bike tippy in some sections, but it really helped in the more root, rock and side hill laden trails we have here.

Well, the RIP does not wind up at all. I attribute that to the careful execution of the bike's design. The rear wheel is held in place by what is essentially a unified rear triangle, which is as stiff as can be. The rear triangle is held in place by an upper and lower rocker assembly. The upper and lower rocker plates are machined beautifully, and are held together by shiny red aluminum blocks that stop them from wandering side to side. All the hardware is stainless, and the bearing sleeves are stepped, making it almost impossible to overtighten the hardware. The tolerances are tight, and there is no room for any slop. It corners like a scared cat. This scores high in my book.

There is no noticeable power loss when you get on it either. Stand up and crank, that back end does not move until you hit a bump. Very cool indeed. Niner has spent quite a bit of time getting this figured out, and they branded thier suspension technology CVA or Constantly Varying Arc. You can read more about how it works here, but I can tell you, it just plain works. End of story.

I added air to the rear shock, now sagging at 1/2" (I added about 40psi) which definitely firmed things up. Before riding again, I checked every pivot bolt, as recommended by Niner. They had all come loose after the first ride, which was to be expected. They have not come loose since.
After the second ride, I was still feeling like my hands were getting beaten up, so I added more air to the front shock. I can only guess that because I am now riding things faster, the fork is working more. I also feel like the back end tends to drive the bike more through it's stroke. This would all add up to not enough air up front. I added 20 psi to both positive and negative chambers. Problem solved.

Now after a handful of rides, the bike is totally dialed in. I am riding things faster than ever before. The bike is capable of handling just about anything you throw at it. Now, with the additional grip of the Rampage, there is no reason not to go hit the local trails, no matter what is hiding under the leaves.

Gripes
My one and only gripe is that the bike has a low BB. Don't get me wrong, the 13" unsagged BB is not low by industry standards, it's just my last bike had a 15" BB. So I'm a little sensitive to that. It is just going to be an adjustment I have to make. The BB wound up where it is, because of the various riding conditions that prevail in this country. A balance had to be made. In the west, trails tend to be more smooth (relatively speaking of course), but have long and sometimes steep downhills. I'm not saying there isn't any technical riding out there, because I have seen plenty of it. A high BB would make the bike too high and tippy for those guys. On the East Coast, the trails are seldom smooth for long, and are littered with short, sharp ups and downs and tight turns. A low BB = your pedals smacking into the ground, which is not only annoying, it can be dangerous as well.

So?
I love this bike. I'm pissed that I didn't get one until late September, I could have used it in June! All that aside, this is one bike that will remain in the stable for the long run. I am already planning some future component upgrades for it:
*Stan's has some new rims in the works that will be available early next year that will allow me to run tubeless, saving some serious rotating weight. And, can anyone say Industry 9?
*I'm also interested in changing the fork to a Maverick DUC. At 4.5" of travel in it's 29er configuration, it will raise the BB about 10mm, getting me just a little closer to that "lofty" BB location I want.

On a Rampage

The Panaracer Rampage 2.35 is almost here.

The wait is not quite over yet. These tires are so hot, the very first batch that was air freighted in came and went in a matter of hours. After hours to be exact. I just happened to be cruising the message board I sponsor, and caught a post about having these in stock.
Needless to say, I bought some immediately, and I should have bought more than I did. By the time I realized this, they were gone.
This was from the advance shipment that is just the tip of the iceberg of what is actually on the way.

So... what is all the hubbub about?

We haven't really had a tire like this for 29ers yet. Most of the high volume tires on the market, have a low tread pattern, making them unsuitable for wet/slick riding conditions. Some of the other large volume tires are prone to flatting due to an insufficient casing. Either way you cut it, we were just pain missing something.

And that is a high volume, aggressive knobby. And this tire is big. Similar in volume to the 2.3 Exiwolf, but with big honkin' knobs. The rubber compound seems to be on the softer side too, which aids in those tricky slick situations. And weight is around 770 grams, about on par with some of the other big meats we currently have.

How does it ride? Well, I have 2 good rides on them so far. I am impressed. I'm running them as a front and rear combo, with the rear tire facing the same direction as the front. On the sidewall, the tire will tell you that you can run the rear tire either way, but for our terrain up here, I feel it is better to run the rear the same way as the front when given the option.

As most new tires do, they do pick up a lot of gravel, but I was not expecting marble sized bits and small rocks when climbing up on the dirt road. There was also a noticeable gain in rolling resistance compared to the Exiwolf/Ignitor I did have on there. The center knobs are big, and you feel their presence despite the fact that they are ramped.

Get them on dirt though, and it is a whole different story. The rolling resistance is just the tires way of saying "Hey ground! C'mere!". Traction was all there.
Saturday's ride took us through some intermediate trails with a couple of attention getting movements, but said trails were covered in about 4" of freshly dropped leaves. Actually finding the trail was based upon luck, and finding unstable and/or wet stuff underneath the leaves was all too common. The tires did not relent in their ability to hang on.
On Sunday's ride we turned up the heat. The riding was a lot more technical, and despite knowing the trail 6 Flags as well as we do, there were a lot of hazards. The only one who did not have a traction related disaster was yours truly. I did slip out a couple of times on some off camber and hidden roots, but the slide was always cut short. The large side knobs really got the job done.
*On a side note, I switched from an Ignitor up front, back to an Exi because the Ignitor, with it's many smaller knobs would tend to snag and then kick you off line. I preferred the somewhat predictable and more controllable manner in which an Exi would let go.

We ran the whole spectrum of conditions, mud, standing water, wet roots, dry roots, off camber boulders, roots, wet leaves, dry leaves, and dry leaves hiding any and or all of the above. If there was any set of conditions to put a tire through it's paces, we had them Sunday.

All I can say, is that if you crave raw grip, these are your tires. Your frame may not clear these though, there is a lot of rubber here.

The verdict, two thumbs up and a big muddy grin.

It is so good to finally see tires like this hit the market. It is definitely the shape of things to come. On deck are more big wheel offerings from WTB and Kenda, to name just a few. We will be there when they arrive.

Storm's a Comin'

We are now at the beginning of stick season. All the leaves have shown us their colors and fallen. The best riding days are behind us now, and anything we can ride now is just a bonus.
Over all, I'd have to say that this has been one of the best riding seasons ever.

We have seen the addition of so many new and exciting 29er products, most notably the new full suspension designs and some really nice and needed tire additions.

I've have quite a few days on the RIP 9, which has become hands down one of the best bikes I have ever owned. After the first few shakedown rides, I was able to get it dialed in perfectly. Air pressures, suspension settings, the whole thing. Unfortunately, all this comes in late in the game. I really could have used this bike in June!

Look for a more detailed review to come later this week.

And the new Panaracer Rampage tire is a bit hit. We are definitely short in the high volume chunky tire category in 29er-land. The Exiwolf is a great tire, but can be downright scary at times on some of the stuff we have here.
The Rampage has the capability to excel where others come up short.
This tire is so anxiously waited for by so many, that the very first batch sold within 3 or so hours. I'm glad I was able to get some, as I just sold my last pair today. More are coming though, so the wait will not be long.

I'll post a review of this tire in the coming week also.

We were able to slide out for a quick ride yesterday afternoon. It was quite an experience trying to find where the trail was. There was a lot of interpretive riding, as the ground was covered in 4" of leaves. It was actually pretty cool to see the naked lay of the land though. On this trail system, you miss a lot of really cool and sometimes scary stuff because it is hidden behind the foliage.
I was a mere 3" from a tumble down a 15ft cliff. One of the trails is right alongside a brook, which yesterday was roaring. Simply amazing stuff.
We started out hour and a half ride with brilliant blue skies. We got down just in time to see the first few snowflakes of the season fly.

Yes.

Snow. It's coming...

Iron Maiden

Last night was special. My friend Scott and I went to go see Iron Maiden in Montreal. I have been a Maiden fan for the longest time, but this is the first time I have actually gotten to see them live. My very first CD was Live After Death, released in '85.

It was AMAZING.

Especially since we managed to work our way to the second row.

We started our journey around 5, not knowing how "elevated" the security level would be at the border. We didn't even have to show our passports. We also had no clue how to even get to the Bell Centre, but a phone call to the wife helped us. Well, it would have probably been more helpful to actually write the directions down, but we managed to get there with minimal fuss.
We sat in the parking lot of a gas station each drinking a 40oz Black Label, some of the worst liquid that passes as beer out of paper bags, surrounded by all kinds of metal head freaks. It was awesome.
When we finally went in we made it a point to get up as close as we could before the lights went down. I would never have guessed we would have gotten as far up as we did.
The lights went down, and there was rock. My ears are still ringing.
They played the entire new album, and a few classics at the encore. I was a little bummed that they didn't play some of the "standards", but when your body of work spans almost 30 years, you probably get sick of playing The Trooper night after night after night.
The truth is, I hardly remember the show. Being that close, you don't really get to see much other than what is immediately around you. I had my elbow in some poor girl's face for pretty much the whole show.
Sorry.
It's easy to see how people get crushed to death at things like this. But regardless, it was a lot of fun. It was a marathon event, and I am pretty sore from battling to stay upright in the sea of hot sweaty bodies.
We got lost getting out of Montreal, and we ended up crossing the border in New York, but all would work out.
The border guard was stoked that we had gone to see Iron Maiden.

Custom Bikes

The greatest things I get to do, and I think I have brought it up before, is to build a bike from the ground up. I have been working with a customer from the UK over the last few days on a bike, that will surely be one of the nicest bikes I have built for someone in terms of quality and component spec.
We are not holding back on this one, not in the least. We originally started out with a goal of 20lbs, and had a good budget to work with. After careful consideration and product comparisons, we came up with a spec that I thought would get us very close to the bar. And after a few more conversations, the budget was increased, so we could really make this ride stand out above all others, and hopefully keep the weight down. Before we knew it, we were talking about Industry 9 wheels, King headsets, and anodized bits that will really make this thing pop.

We're talking bling, 1995 style, back when you could get any part in any color. In this case, the color will be red.

Because our new friend is so far away, and we have a long lead time on the wheels, I have decided to document the build process, for all to see. More importantly, it will be an easy way for him to check up and see how things are going.

We're just tying up the last few loose ends, and the process will begin.

Let's Get Ripped!

After several long months of waiting, it is finally here. The new Niner RIP 9 (Roll In Peace) is now finally shipping.

Ever since I learned of this bike's existence my interest has been piqued. The early pictures of prototypes at Sea Otter were enough to confirm that I would have one of these in the quiver. This bike does not disappoint, and the wait was totally worth it.

The original colors of this bike were to be shot peened and anodized Hi-Ho Silver and Gold Rush, with laser etched graphics. This was not to be however, due to the difficult nature of anodizing large surface areas, the gold was dropped at the last minute due to runs in the finish.
Atomic Blue became the replacement color. My original choice was the silver, but I switched to the blue in a last minute snap decision. Niner's paint is amazing, so I figured it would be a good move. At the show, seeing both finishes together made me kind of wish I stuck with the silver, but that is just the way I am.

Lot's of folks were questioning the value between an anodized finish versus wet paint, but Steve had promised that Atomic Blue was no ordinary finish. And it isn't. It's called Atomic Blue for a reason...
I can't believe it stayed secret for this long. It glows in the dark.

All that aside, the bike rides better than I could have hoped for.
My thoughts on full suspension design are pretty well defined. I am a linkage junkie, single pivots don't really stack up in my mind, despite the fact that modern shock technology has been successful in minimizing the glaring performance deficits of a single pivot.

I could write pages on the differences between linkage designs vs single pivots, but the reality is, boring science isn't as interesting as real world practicality.

The long and short of it, is that modern shock technology utilizes a "Platform Valve", that restricts movement in the shock from small input, but allows bigger hits to open the shock up and allow it to perform it's function. It all get very complicated, but it has allowed frame manufacturers to get away with inefficient designs but simply allowing them to put this mechanical band-aid on it. You get a bike that doesn't bob while pedaling.
The RIP is designed not to need this band-aid. And you get a bike that doesn't bob while pedaling, standing or seated.

How?

The Niner is a linkage bike, that utilizes a unified rear triangle, attached to the front with a pair of links, all tied together with a shock. It seems like there is a lot going on, but there isn't. It's actually quite simple. Niner calls this design Continuously Varying Arc.
In layman's terms, the design is intended to completely isolate the drive train from the suspension. Pedal input has little or no effect on the suspension. It completely depends on where the back end is in it's travel as to how efficient it is. And in the grand scheme of things, it is at it's most efficient at the beginning of the travel, right where you need it.

Out of the saddle, cranking uphill, amazingly has no affect on the suspension. This completely blew me away. And everyone else that I have had throw a leg over it.

There are always trade-offs when making a bike excel at doing one thing well. In this bike, the rear end wants to extend slightly under hard braking. Not too much, but it's there. You still have may more control than you would on a hard tail though, so in my book, it isn't that big of a deal. I'd rather have the pedaling efficiency.

There is a lot of hardware keeping this thing together, and all of it is constructed with the best materials. The stainless mounting bolts and hardware are all stepped, thus eliminating the possibility of over tightening the bolts and side loading the bearings.
Every aspect has been well thought out, and very well executed.

There is also plenty of room fot the next genreation of 29er tires that are on the way. We will be seeing much wider and blockier tires within the next few weeks, and the guys at Niner did their homework.

Based on the few short rides I have on this bike, it is easy to see that Niner has yet another winner in their line up.

This bike weighs just 29.25lbs with pedals. I am riding things faster than on my hard tail. Picking even better lines, floating over the things that used to rattle to death on Orange bike.

It will change the way you ride.

And that is what makes it so cool.